Gallery Guide | "Kim Abeles: Smog Collectors, 1987-2020"

KIM ABELES SMOG COLLECTORS 1987-2020 GUIDE TO THE EXHIBITION

KIM ABELES SMOG COLLECTORS, 1987-2020

Artist Kim Abeles is known for her innovative method of producing images on various surfaces made solely by particulate matter from air pollution. The Begovich Gallery’s presentation of Kim Abeles: Smog Collectors, 1987-2020, features over thirty years of her artistic investigation related to the environmental impact caused by airborne detritus. It examines a range of scientific data collected by the artist and its unexpected visual presentation that prompts the viewer to reconsider the air we breathe.

The exhibition's presentation at CSUF Begovich Gallery is divided into five sections: FOOTPRINTS OF THE SKY features Abeles' early iterations of the “Smog Collectors." MAPPING AND MARKING demonstrate how smog operates as a transcriber of moments and occurrences. The works in this category trace a city block's horizon, emissions from industrial factories, the aftermath of the 1992 L.A. Riots, and the catastrophic wildfires that ignited southern California during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Smog Collectors also links air pollution's impact on the HUMAN BODY. The images in this series demonstrate the connection between pollution and our well-being.

In DOMESTIC SPACES, household objects are utilized to illustrate the dangers of carbon dioxide found in our own homes and workplace. The artist achieved these sets of works by leaving her windows open to allow air residuals to collect into items such as plates, clocks, and her daughter's childhood highchair. And finally, Abeles' most eminent body of work in Smog Collectors addresses how POLITICS shape the quality of the air we breathe. This section highlights the Presidential Commemorative Smog Plates (1992) and the World Leaders in Smog (2019).

“FOOTPRINTS OF THE SKY” – EARLY INVESTIGATIONS In the late 1980s, Abeles created the first “Smog Collector” after noticing how the San Gabriel Mountains were regularly obscured by the particulate matter that constitutes air pollution. Smog Collector (One Month of Smog), 1987, was the first series that launched an ongoing investigation on air quality. Using hand-drawn stencils, Abeles developed an innovative method to collect smog particulate on various surfaces. These early works were described by an anonymous observer as “footprints of the sky.”

Smog Collector (One Month of Smog), 1987 Smog (particulate matter) on acrylic; Acrylics on paper 15 ½” x 11” Collection of Madeleine Grynsztejn and Tom Shapiro The first Smog Collector (1987) was an experiment: an image of a slice of the San Gabriel Mountains wedged visually between the buildings of South Broadway’s horizon. The wedge could be seen from Abeles’ fire escape at the Victor Clothing Building, and she also photographed it for 18 months trying to get a clear view unobscured by smog.

The Smog Catcher (Thirty Days of Smog) II, 1992 Smog (particulate matter) on repurposed acrylic 15” x 13” Collection of Michael A. Levine

Memory Box, 1987 Asphalt covered box and title created with spiritual incense; Thread; Cibachrome of the Mountain Wedge; Naturally dyed cheesecloth; Soil 13” x 16 ¼ ” x 12 ½” Collection of Steve and Doni Silver Simons

Camera Desiros, 1987 Enamel on brass framework; Mosquito netting; Bird feathers from Abeles’ grandfather’s racing pigeons 3 ¾ ” x 5 ½” x 4 ¼ ”

Obstructions to the Wedge, 1987 Silver prints showing view toward the Mountain Wedge from Abeles’ fire escape; Zora Neale Hurston quote from Their Eyes Were Watching God; Wire; Acrylics on wood and paper 45 ½” x 7” x 1 ¾”

Instructions for Stride Forward 2014 recreation of the 1987 artwork Photograph of Abeles walking along her sculpture, Pentipede, to measure her stride in order to adjust the pedometer she used during her 16 ½ mile Pilgrimage to the San Gabriel Mountains; pedometer with instructions air quality report for the day of the walk, text

Mountain Wedge and Pilgrimage to the Wedge A facsimile of the binder for the project.

The 1989 original is archived at the Center for Art + Environment, Nevada Museum of Art.

MAPPING AND MARKING “The horizon breathes like an autonomous organism with handwriting of a volatile hieroglyphic system.

I am its stenographer and the arm of its turntable.”

— Kim Abeles In this series, smog functions as a transcriber by outlining the temporal dimensions of a landscape or drawing specific moments in time.

In the late 1980s, Abeles produced drawings of city horizon lines in the U.S. and abroad. She would find access to building rooftops and sketch a 360° image of the skyline. Sixty Blocks Square of Los Angeles Horizon (Seven Days of Smog) represents Los Angeles, not only as a continuous horizon line but as a smog-ridden space, with the sky as the indicator of the structures below.

"Air pollution" that has accumulated onto the assortment of surfaces in Abeles' Smog Collectors operates as a form of data. In the 1990s, she collaborated with the Bureau of Automotive Repair to produce a suite of citywide Smog Collectors throughout Southern California. Among the various intents, the project addressed the density of pollution in disadvantaged communities, specifically those close to freeways and factories. Subsequently, the project launched further iterations that illustrated the severity of airborne toxins caused by refineries and automobiles. Included in the exhibition at the Begovich Gallery are images of car parts and factories to which Abeles applies harmful air pollutants to demonstrate their degrading effects on air quality.

In 1992, Abeles produced a series of Smog Collectors that indirectly recorded the Los Angeles uprisings. Ten days after she placed a set of “smog collectors: on the rooftop of her studio in Vernon, California, verdicts were announced in the trials of LAPD officers filmed in the savage beating of Rodney King. The Sorcerer, French Pyrenees, and Arial Gallery (Twelve Days of Smog/Two Days of Smoke from the Los Angles Uprising) are composed of debris from the aftermath of arson fires, property damage, and civil unrest.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Abeles introduced two sets of work. The first, Smog Catcher 2020 (6 days of smog, 1 day of rain, and 8 weeks exposed indoors during quarantine), was produced when Southern California had the cleanest air recorded since the 1980s. The second was made in the fall of 2020 when the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths were at their all-time high and the Bobcat Fire began to blaze in the central San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles National Forest. With Deck Chairs on the Titanic (30 days of smog and ash from the Bobcat Fire), Abeles considers the dichotomy between industrial contamination and environmental tragedies of the wildfires. Comprised of smoke and ashes on European beechwood, Deck Chairs on the Titanic uses smog collectors made of the same wood species as the original loungers aboard the RMS Titanic.

Sixty Blocks Square of Los Angeles Horizon (Seven Days of Smog) Winter 1990/91 Smog (particulate matter) on acrylic 5 panels: 16" x 89", 16" x 89", 16" x 67", 16" x 89", 16" x 89"

(Clockwise)

Smog Map, 2010

Smog (particulate matter) on cellulose Edition 3/15; Original edition of 125 Smog Maps on cellulose with acrylics on canvas was commissioned by Deutsche Bank

Arial Gallery (Twelve Days of Smog/Two Days of Smoke from the Los Angeles Uprising), 1992 Smog (particulate matter) and smoke/ash on repurposed acrylic Collection of Alice Fung and Michael Blatt

Engine in One Month of Smog, Smoke and Ash from the Fourmile Canyon Fire, 2010 Smog (particulate matter) and smoke/ash on porcelain plate The Fourmile Canyon Fire was a wildfire in Boulder County, Colorado

Car Parts (Thirty Days of Smog), 1991

Smog (particulate matter) on acrylic; Photograph of 1910 electric car plant Collection of Susan Zeidler and Leo Frishberg

The Sorcerer, French Pyrenees (Twelve Days of Smog/Two Days of Smoke from the Los Angeles Uprising), 1992 Smog (particulate matter) and smoke/ash on repurposed acrylic Collection of Susan Zeidler and Leo Frishberg

(From left in pairs) PATRICIA LAYMAN BAZELON Cargill Electric Elevator, 1991 Ultrachrome print of the original gelatin silver print (1991) Courtesy of the Patricia Layman Bazelon Estate

PATRICIA LAYMAN BAZELON General Mills Elevator, 1991 Ultrachrome print of the original gelatin silver print Courtesy of the Patricia Layman Bazelon Estate

PATRICIA LAYMAN BAZELON Kellogg Elevator, 1987 Ultrachrome print of the original gelatin silver print Courtesy of the Patricia Layman Bazelon Estate

KIM ABELES

KIM ABELES

KIM ABELES

Smog (particulate matter) on repurposed acrylic Collection of Robert Hirsch and Adele Henderson

Smog (particulate matter) on repurposed acrylic Collection of Lauren Trent

Smog (particulate matter) on repurposed acrylic Collection of Paige and Jeffrey Anthony

Smog Translation of Patricia Layman Bazelon’s Cargill Electric Elevator (Twenty Days of Smog), 1998

Smog Translation of Patricia Layman Bazelon’s General Mills Elevator (Twenty Days of Smog), 1998

Smog Translation of Patricia Layman Bazelon’s Kellogg Elevator (Twenty Days of Smog), 1998

Smog Catcher (6 days of smog, 1 day of rain, and 8 weeks exposed indoors during quarantine), 2020 Smog (particulate matter) on wood panels that were kept indoors to collect the particulate coming through the studio window 15’ x 5’

Deck Chair on the Titanic (30 days of smog and ash from the Bobcat Fire) September 18 – October 15, 2020 Smog (particulate matter) and smoke/ash on porcelain plate; Hand-drawn digital print incorporating three motifs used for the First-, Second-, and Third-Class dinnerware on the Titanic.

10 ¼ ” diameter

Deck Chairs on the Titanic (30 days of smog and ash from the Bobcat Fire) September 27 – October 26, 2020 Smog (particulate matter) and smoke/ash on European Beech, the type of wood used to make the original deck chairs for the Titanic.

10 ½” x 28”

THE HUMAN BODY Combining activism with art, Kim Abeles addresses women's health issues in a multi-panel installation that examines the connection between air pollution and breast cancer. Using her smog collection process to capture particulate matter on cellulose, she marks a circle for each 1,000 individuals, predominately women, estimated to be diagnosed with breast cancer in the prior year.

Digits Smog Count was created for, (Re-)Cycles of Paradise, a traveling exhibition produced by the international group “ARTPORT_making waves.” The exhibition explored the complex and multifaceted relationship between gender and climate change. In 2009, ARTPORT curators were invited by the Global Gender and Climate Alliance and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to organize an exhibition that called attention to this topic during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP 15, in Copenhagen.

Exposure to air pollutants has been associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. In addition to addressing the effects of air pollution on the lungs, Abeles has created work that examines the health implications of pollution as it affects the spine, heart, hands, and the circulatory system of the body.

Digits Smog Count, 2009 Smog (particulate matter) on cellulose 9” x 9” each (40 squares)

Winter Clear Days (One Month of Smog), 1990 Smog, wood, and Plexiglas 131#8” x 10 ¼” each (3 in the set) Gift of the Mark and Hilarie Moore Collection, Orange, California Collection of Orange County Museum of Art

Human Figure in Thirty Days of Smog (II), 1991 Smog (particulate matter) on acrylic 23” x 17” Collection of Catherine MacLean and David Yale

Silhouettes in Smog, 2009 Smog (particulate matter) on handmade paper made with junk mail is the prototype for a series of 100+ silhouettes of women. The work speaks to the correlation between air pollution, high levels of particulate matter, and health effects ranging from asthma to breast cancer. Globally, 1 in 4 cases of cancers among females is a result of breast cancer. The artwork was made in collaboration with the international curatorial collective, ARTPORT_making waves, exhibiting in Copenhagen during COP15, the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nation’s Convention on Climate Change.

12 ½” x 12 ½” each

DOMESTIC SPACES Utilizing everyday household objects, Abeles complicates our expectations that the dangers of air pollution solely exist outside or beyond, rather than inside our own homes and workplaces. Her dining room tableau, created with domestic articles, reveals the emissions that enter our homes and those we create in our everyday spaces with simple activities such as cooking and cleaning. Among the artworks assembled, she includes her daughter’s childhood highchair with its food and place-setting entirely made of particulate matter. Abeles establishes a personal narrative by reexamining the air quality behind closed doors, while deconstructing the illusion of safety.

Dinner for Two in One Month of Smog, 2011 Smog (particulate matter) on porcelain dinnerware and linen The installation was created for the 2012 exhibition, Swept Away: Dust, Ashes and Dirt in Contemporary Art and Design, at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York 27 ½” x 48 ½” x 38”

Zoë's Highchair (Forty Days of Smog) Winter 1990/91 Altered, painted highchair with food and setting made of smog (particulate matter) 45” x 15” x 19”

Air Share (Twenty Days of Smog/ Ten Days of Acid Rain) Spring 1991 Window scene and factory made of smog (particulate matter) on repurposed acrylic 46 ½" x 31"

Walden, 2018 Smog translation of Thomas W. Nason’s engraving in a modified edition of Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau; Smog on repurposed acrylic; Acrylics on paper and wood shelf; Baby’s breath flowers 8” x 6” x 1” (book)

Smog Clock, 2019 Smog (particulate matter) on glass; Acrylics on paper; Clocks 10” diameter (2)

Menu in Twenty Days of Smog and Acid Rain Spring 1992 Smog (particulate matter) on repurposed acrylic 13” x 9” x 2”

Steak Dinner in Twelve Days of Smog, 2012 Edition number 6/20 Smog (particulate matter) on porcelain and Ultrachrome print of currency 11 ½” diameter Jellyfish in 20 Days of Smog, 2014 Smog (particulate matter) kiln-fired onto ceramic plate 11” diameter

Smog Count (Thirty Days of Smog) Winter 1990/1991 Smog (particulate matter) revealed by removing strips of stencil each day; Artist statement handwritten on cellulose 20” x 23”

Smog Mask (Thirty Days of Smog) Spring 1991 Smog (particulate matter) on acrylic; brass hardware 11” x 7” each Edition numbers 9/20 and 10/20 Collection of Catherine MacLean and David Yale

POLITICS "How do you balance this idea of being inspired while getting the confrontation of their portraits made of smog? I felt that it made them accountable for their words."

— Kim Abeles In the early 1990s, Abeles introduced her renowned series, the Presidential Commemorative Smog Plates. Each features the portrait of a U.S. President ranging from William McKinley to George H.W. Bush rendered with particulate matter, as well as their statements about the environment and industry. When the plates sat on the rooftop of her L.A. studio the length of exposure to smog varied accordingly to each president's environmental record – those with more pro-active policies resulted in lighter imprints; and those more apathetic to the issue displayed denser sediments.

Nearly thirty years after the debut of the Presidential Commemorative Smog Plates, Abeles revisited her Smog Collectors to address the latest state of our global environmental crisis. World Leaders in Smog depicts ten international figures who presented speeches at world climate summits from 2011 to 2018. Etched alongside the portraits of these political figures are excerpts from their speeches concerning the environment.

Abeles produced a second set of World Leaders in Smog plates featuring national emblems and geolocations of the countries. Individual plates gathered smog in some of the world leaders' respective capitals: Berlin, London, Moscow, Paris, Ottawa, and Washington D.C.

Presidential Seal in Twenty Days of Smog, 1992 Smog (particulate matter) on porcelain plate with ribbon 24" x 9 ½ "

Obama in 9 Days of Smog and McCain in 18 Days of Smog, 2008 Smog (particulate matter) on repurposed acrylic 10" x 8 ½ " each Created in collaboration with Melissa Lafsky for Discover Magazine

Presidential Commemorative Smog Plates, 1992 Smog (particulate matter) on porcelain plates 10 ½” diameter each William McKinley in 20 Days of Smog Theodore Roosevelt in 4 Days of Smog William Taft in 40 Days of Smog Woodrow Wilson in 8 Days of Smog Warren Harding in 25 Days of Smog Calvin Coolidge in 25 Days of Smog Herbert Hoover in 25 Days of Smog Franklin Roosevelt in 4 Days of Smog Harry Truman in 30 Days of Smog Dwight Eisenhower in 20 Days of Smog John Kennedy in 14 Days of Smog Lyndon Johnson in 30 Days of Smog Richard Nixon in 20 Days of Smog Gerald Ford in 14 Days of Smog James Carter in 8 Days of Smog Ronald Reagan in 40 Days of Smog George HW Bush in 40 Days of Smog The plates were placed on a rooftop for increments 4, 8, 14, 20, 25, 30, or 40 days depending on the environmental record of each president. The idea developed when Abeles heard George HW Bush on the radio proclaiming himself

as the “Environmental President”. The artist’s immediate reaction was to feel the contradiction between the words and the reality of the air surrounding her. Though the idea was born in despair and sarcasm, Bush did push for amendments to the 1965 Clean Air Act. However, to this day, air pollution continues to be a dangerous threat with a heavy weight of burden on low-income communities and remains a social justice issue. Historian William Weeks Ph.D explains, "The progress that had been made in the US regarding air pollution controls was largely negated by globalization--the smog was merely offshored, only to come back with the wind."

World Leaders in Smog, 2019 Smog (particulate matter) on porcelain plates 10 ½” diameter each The series includes ten world leaders who presented speeches at world climate summits from 2011 to 2018. The quotes are written on the plates in the language originally presented. The project was created in collaboration with the exhibition, The Coming World: Ecology as the New Politics 2030–2100, curated by Snejana Krasteva and Ekaterina Lazareva for the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia. A set of the stenciled plates were placed on rooftops for an average of one month in Los Angeles and Moscow. Individual plates collected smog in the capital cities of London, Washington DC, Berlin, Paris, and Ottawa.

President of France Emmanuel Macron (2017- ) Placed on a Paris rooftop to collect smog Placed on a Paris suburb rooftop to collect smog Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel (2005- ) Placed on a Berlin rooftop to collect smog President of Russia Vladimir Putin (2012- ) Placed on a Moscow rooftop to collect smog Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May (2016-19) Placed on a London rooftop to collect smog

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (2014- ) President of the United States Donald Trump (2017- 2021) President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping (2013- ) President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016) Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau (2015- ) President of South Africa Jacob Zuma (2009-2018) This set was placed on a Los Angeles rooftop to collect smog

ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES + TIPS

Lifestyle and Stewardship Eat healthy and locally grown food.

“Lifestock - meat and dairy - is responsible for 14.5 percent of manmade global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from feed production and processing and the methane (25 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere over 100 years) that beef and sheep belch out. Every day that you forgo meat and dairy, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds—that’s 2,920 pounds a year.” – Source “The 35 Easiest Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint” by Renee Cho for Columbia Climate School. The article includes the environmental problems of fast fashion, air travel, and more: news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/12/27/35-ways-reduce-carbon-footprint/ Register to vote and show up for each election. Write to Senators and governmental leadership to express your concerns.

Use your purchasing power and shift algorithms of your web searches to include “green” and “environmentally friendly” products.

Vehicles Travel by bus, train, bike, skateboard, and on foot.

Carpool and rideshare. Apps like Waze Carpool make it easy. At schools, you can find help through their parking and transportation offices. For information on carpool, buses, trains, and share rides at CSU Fullerton: parking.fullerton.edu/titanstraveltogether/ Combine errands into one trip. Starting a car after it has been sitting for more than an hour causes up to five times more pollution than starting up when the engine is warm.

Don’t idle your car for more than 2 minutes (it takes less gas to restart your car.) One minute of idling produces more carbon monoxide than the smoke from 3 packs of cigarettes.

If you have a car, boat, or other vehicles, keep them tuned up. Follow through with emissions testing with your state’s smog check program when timely.

Topping off the tank releases gas fumes into the air. Avoid spilling the gas. Refueling in cooler periods of the day can prevent gas fumes from heating up and creating ozone.

Watch your mileage. If there’s a sudden drop in mileage, it’s a red flag to get your car checked.

Avoid full throttle driving and abrupt acceleration.

Keep your tires inflated to the top pressure range stamped on the tire for maximum fuel efficiency.

In your home and community spaces Composting creates nutrient rich soil while reducing waste in landfills. Mulch or compost leaves and yard waste.

Recycle and properly dispose of toxic substances but move in the direction of reducing consumption.

Plant trees, save parks, and create community gardens.

Reduce or eliminate fireplace and wood stove use.

Avoid burning leaves, trash, and other materials.

Conserve electricity and if you need new appliances, look for the ENERGY STAR label.

If you use an air conditioner set it no lower than 78 degrees.

Additional Resources Bill McKibben is an environmentalist who began writing about climate change in the late 1980s with articles published in numerous magazines and his well-known book, The End of Nature (1989). He is a co-founder of 350.org, an excellent resource for information and action. “Their vision has transformed into an increasingly diverse global climate movement lifting up the voices of communities all over the world.”

Tree People is dedicated to planting trees and educating about their environmental benefits: treepeople.org/ Local and national environmental agencies: California Environmental Protection Agency calepa.ca.gov South Coast Air Quality Management District aqmd.gov United States Environmental Protection Agency epa.gov To report a smoking vehicle, contact California Air Resources Board's Vehicle Complaint Hotline 1-800-END-SMOG (1-800-363-7664) To report a general air quality complaint, email envirotip@arb.ca.gov or call 1-800-CUT SMOG (1-800-952-5588) To start a recycling program, check your city or county websites trash, recycling or waste management.

Recycling information for Fullerton: cityoffullerton.com/residents/utilities/trash-recycling Recycling information for Los Angeles: https://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/swims/ Vegetation maintenance and abatement to help prevent wild fires: fire.lacounty.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2021/05/Defensible-Space-booklet-2021WEB.pdf

KIM ABELES: SMOG COLLECTORS, 1987-2020 September 18 – December 18, 2021 CSUF Begovich Gallery About the artist Kim Abeles is an interdisciplinary artist known for her community-based projects that explore biography, geography and environment. She is the recipient of fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, the J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts, the California Community Foundation, and the Pollack-Krasner Foundation, and her projects have been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. She has created projects in collaboration with the California Science Center, Camp Ground: Arts, Corrections and Fire Management in the Santa Monica Mountains, air pollution control agencies, health clinics and mental health departments, and natural history museums in California, Colorado and Florida. She is professor emerita at California State University, Northridge where she taught public art and public practice from 1998-2009. She received her MFA at University of California, Irvine. She lives and works in Los Angeles.

Artist’s website kimabeles.com Acknowledgements Kim Abeles: Smog Collectors 1987-2020 is organized by CSUF Nicholas + Lee Begovich Gallery. Support for the exhibition and the gallery is made possible through the Art Alliance, Associated Students, Inc. Instructional Related Activities, CSUF Department of Capital Programs and Facilities Management- Office of Sustainability the College of the Arts, the Department of Visual Arts, and Ernie and Donna Schroeder. Special thanks to Paige and Jeffrey Anthony, the Estate of Patricia Layman Bazelon, Alice Fung and Michael Blatt, Madeleine Grynsztejn and Tom Shapiro, Robert Hirsch and Adele Henderson, Michael Levine, Catherine MacLean and David Yale, the Orange County Museum of Art, Steve and Doni Silver Simons, Lauren Trent, and Susan Zeidler and Leo Frishberg.

Exhibition catalog available mid-October 2021 Available on Amazon.com + bookshop.org W arts.fullerton.edu/begovichgallery IG @begovichgallery

BEGOVICH GALLERY W: arts.fullerton.edu/begovichgallery IG: @begovichgallery

Cover image: Kim Abeles, The Smog Catcher (Thirty Days of Smog) II, 1992. Smog (particulate matter) on repurposed acrylic, 15” x 13”. Collection of Michael A. Levine